James Murdoch resigns from head position at major British newspapers

In a surprise move, the son of News Corporation mogul Rupert Murdoch has quit his position as the company director of several major British papers.

According to an exclusive from The London Evening Standard, James Murdoch resigned from the boards of both The Sun publisher News Group Newspapers Limited and Times Newspapers Limited, which publishes the The Times and Sunday Times, Wednesday afternoon. The move by Murdoch means no one from the powerful media family is on the board of the top U.K. newspapers.

Although James Murdoch still remains a chairman of News International, those closely associated with him say that he will have a more hands off role.

“It may well be there’s no further good from having James Murdoch as chairman of News International,” analyst Claire Enders said.

News Group Newspapers Limited formerly was in control of News of the World, the paper which the Murdoch family has faced much heat for in the ongoing investigation into the company’s phone hacking.

On Wednesday, The Guardian reported that an Australian lawmaker was offered favorable media coverage from a Rupert Murdoch executive in exchange for a vote against government legislation favoring News Corp.

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Andrew Jones is a staff writer/reporter for Raw Story. Besides covering politics, he is also a freelance sports journalist, as well as a slam poetry and music artist. You can follow him on Twitter @sluggahjells.